We all know the importance of getting feedback from other writers, not just from friends and family. For many writers, that feedback comes from a critique group.

Last summer, Sisters in Crime  hosted a meeting about etiquette for critique groups with special guest Tim Green, from St. Edwards University. Members of several local critique groups joined the discussion. The following guidelines and suggestions emerged.

Professor Green offered a general framework for face-to-face critiques. First the writer speaks, then readers take turns offering their comments. Finally, the whole group can engage in a general discussion, summarizing what they agree about and answering each other’s questions.

DOs:

• The writer can introduce her work briefly, explaining what she’s trying to accomplish, whether her draft is rough or finished, and what kind of feedback she wants.
• Readers should begin with the strengths of the piece (‘What works for me is…’) and move to questions and weaknesses (‘What doesn’t work for me,’ or ‘What I don’t understand is…’) afterwards.
• Readers should speak to the writing, not the writer, pinning comments to specific passages in the text. This bears repeating! Find the specific words that trigger your reactions.
• During the readers’ comments, the writer should remain silent, listen carefully, and save questions or explanations for the general discussion period.
• Everyone should bear in mind that personal preferences are not aesthetic absolutes. Readers are only offering their subjective reactions and opinions. Writers should remember that, too.

DON’Ts:

• Writers should resist the urge to disparage or apologize for their own writing.
• Readers should resist the urge to rewrite or copyedit during group critiques.
• Writers should try not to become defensive.

Professor Green advised that higher order concerns (plot, structure, character, voice, point of view, telling/showing) are appropriate for early drafts. Lower order concerns (dialogue, scene/setting, word choice, sentence management) are more likely to be useful for advanced drafts.

Most critique groups eventually settle on a routine that works for them, but for planning purposes, you could consider the following guidelines:

• Four to six people is a good size for a critique group.
• Ten pages is a reasonable length for submissions.
• One or two minutes should suffice for the writer’s introductory remarks.
• Allow about five minutes for each reader’s comments.

At this rate, you would expect to spend a half-hour or more on each submission. If everyone submits every time, you might need to allow as much as three hours for your sessions. Timekeeping can help ensure that each writer gets her fair share of attention.

Depending on where you live and what you write, you may have a hard time finding a local group that works in your genre or niche and meets at a convenient time and place. In that case, you could consider joining Authonomy, a website run by Harper Collins where thousands of authors post their work and exchange critiques online.

Elizabeth Buhmann is author of Lay Death at Her Door (Red Adept Publishing, May 2013)

Everyone agreed on the importance of keeping the comments positive. Praise for what works should come first to balance criticism. It may be necessary to curb or even remove a person who dominates discussion or persists in harsh criticism.

As writers, we learn and improve from criticism, but praise is the oxygen we breathe. Your critique group should not leave you feeling discouraged. If it does, drop out.

You should run home from your critique group sessions eager to reread the comments on your work and inspired to make the revisions that will take it to the next level.

Have you been listening to Serial? Each week, millions of people anticipate the next episode of Serial, a podcast-turned-obsession produced by This American Life (TAL), which covers the investigation of a 15-year-old murder case. Serial has done a masterful job of pulling people into a real-life murder mystery, and I am one of those waiting for a new episode each Thursday.

Serial is hosted by Sarah Koenig, a journalist and  executive producer working for TAL, who spent a year studying the case of Hae Min Lee, a well-liked Baltimore high school student who was murdered in 1999 at the age of eighteen. Lee’s body was discovered six weeks after she was murdered, buried in a shallow grave in Leakin Park (often pronounced as Linkin Park). Leakin Park has a reputation as a hiding place for the dead. It has been said, “If you’re going to bury a body in Leakin Park, you’re going to find someone else’s.”   It is no place for anyone’s child.

Detectives investigated Hae Min Lee’s murder and her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, found himself at the center of the inquiry. Before long, Adnan Syed, was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Many believe he was wrongly convicted while others say justice has been served.

The question remains, “Did Adnan Syed kill Hae Min Lee?”

Sarah Koenig’s storytelling skills are impressive and on full display each week. Her recorded telephone conversations with Adnan Syed from prison, as well as interviews with his friends and others who knew him, bring us close to the investigation. Koenig’s analysis helps us realize that she isn’t sure about the truth, either. Each week moves us back and forth on the pendulum swing between guilt and reasonable doubt, even innocence. Each week’s episode has caused controversy, discussion and a broader conversation regarding what should be used to prosecute capital murder cases.

Serial includes a number of discoveries and twists, which I won’t spoil in this post. For those of us who are interested in studying skilled storytelling, consider enrolling in Koenig’s class by listening to this podcast. While many have proclaimed podcasts a medium with little growth potential, Serial has proven otherwise. Koenig is clear that she isn’t too far ahead of us in her weekly recordings. They didn’t have the entire season ‘in the can’ before Episode 1 aired, and we can feel the uncertainty as she discusses the case with experts and others involved, including a juror who served on Adnan Syed’s trial.

Koenig reads from Hae Min Lee’s diary and re-traces routes and timelines testified to in court. In her hands, the story unfolds in such a way that even some who feel they know the case are surprised by what she finds. The one thing that has stayed with me throughout my listening journey, apart from the horrific reality that a young woman was murdered and her family forever damaged by living with unfair reality, is that the way in which Adnan Syed was convicted. While I haven’t read the court transcripts, what we have learned so far is concerning. Did Syed commit the crime? Was the evidence used to convict him sufficient?  The issue is being hotly debated at water coolers and cafes across the country.

And with good reason.

Serial achieves a quality of storytelling rarely found in the true crime genre, and the result is a podcast that has broken iTunes records, becoming the fastest downloaded podcast to reach 5 million listeners. It’s a nod to old-style crime radio but with the contemporary twist. Its success has brought new attention to the case as well as some backlash criticism that a murder case should not be used for the public’s entertainment. These are curious waters to navigate but the exploration of true crime stories has been an industry for some time. Serial has simply found a way to connect with listeners in a compelling manner. As mystery writers, while we may be inspired by certain events, our work is fiction. No people or animals are harmed in the process of creating our stories. However, in Serial’s world, we are listening to an investigation involving real lives and real suffering, a viscerally violent foundation upon which this new American obsession rests.

The victim, Hae Min Lee, as reported by friends, was smart, funny and full of promise. She left this world far too soon and the space she has left open in her family’s hearts will never be filled. Yes, Serial is compelling, in large part, because of the real lives affected, because the stakes are high, because so much mystery remains in this case. Let us remember those people at the center of this reality. They are not characters–they are real people carrying this burden, long after each episode has ended.

To learn more about Serial, visit www.serialpodcast.org

Serial logo property of This American Life.

–Laura Oles